Tennis

The Latest: American girls strong in US Open juniors

Andy Murray, of the United Kingdom, walks from the court after losing to Kei Nishikori, of Japan, during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

American girls are making a strong statement in the U.S. Open junior tournament, taking 10 of the final 16 spots. That's the most girls from the United States to make it into the third round since the draw of that event expanded to 64 in 1984.

The American group is led by fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova, a 15-year-old who was a French Open junior finalist.

''You have so many up-and-coming young women already on the tour, and then to see this wave of great junior girls coming behind them is really, really encouraging,'' said Martin Blackman, the U.S. Tennis Association's player development manager.

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9:05 p.m.

Serena Williams and Simona Halep are heading to a third set in their U.S. Open quarterfinal.

Williams, seeded No. 1 and seeking her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, took the opening set 6-2 on Wednesday night despite being broken for the first time in the tournament.

The No. 5-seeded Halep then saved seven break points in the second game of the second set, and broke Williams in the very next game to lead 2-1. Eventually, after saving all 12 break points she faced in that set, Halep grabbed it 6-4 on her fifth set point.

That is the first set Williams has lost in five matches at Flushing Meadows this year.

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7:50 p.m.

A first-round U.S. Open women's singles match will be looked into by tennis' anti-corruption organization because of possible irregular betting patterns.

Tennis Integrity Unit spokesman Mark Harrison said Wednesday that 15th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky's 6-1, 6-1 victory over Vitalia Diatchenko last week is the only match that has been the subject of an alert at Flushing Meadows this year.

U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said the tournament ''is aware of the betting alert'' and that the TIU is handling the mattter.

Widmaier added that ''betting alerts need to be investigated, but they are certainly not gospel'' and do not ''necessarily indicate any nefarious doings.''

The New York Times first reported on the alert to the TIU.

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6:15 p.m.

The U.S. Tennis Association says a digital audio sound processor at court level malfunctioned during the U.S. Open quarterfinal between Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori.

The second-ranked Murray dropped seven consecutive games after a let call caused by a loud noise from the malfunctioning equipment during a fourth-set point and lost to Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Wednesday.

Murray disagreed with chair umpire Marija Cicak's decision to immediately halt things when play was interrupted by a sound similar to that of a gong being struck. It happened with Murray already up two sets to one and holding a second break point at 1-all in the fourth.

Murray complained about the ruling right away, gave away the next three points to lose the game, then brought it up again with Cicak at the ensuing changeover, saying something similar had happened earlier without a re-do of the point.

The USTA says the malfunctioning unit will be replaced between Wednesday's day and night sessions.

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6:10 p.m.

Andy Murray dropped seven consecutive games after a let call caused by a loud noise in the arena's speaker system during a fourth-set point and lost to Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Murray, the No. 2 seed and 2012 champion at Flushing Meadows, disagreed with chair umpire Marija Cicak's decision to immediately halt things when play was interrupted by a sound similar to that of a gong being struck. It happened with Murray already up two sets to one and holding a second break point at 1-all in the fourth.

Murray complained about the ruling right away, gave away the next three points to lose the game, then brought it up again with Cicak at the ensuing changeover, saying something similar had happened earlier without a re-do of the point.

Nishikori was the 2014 runner-up at Flushing Meadows.

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5:05 p.m.

Andy Murray was bothered by the chair umpire's decision to call a let on a loud noise that came from the stadium's speaker system and now finds himself headed to a fifth set against Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.

Murray led two sets to one – 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 – and held break points at 1-all in the fourth Wednesday. But during that second break chance, the point was interrupted by a noise something akin to a gong being struck. Chair umpire Marija Cicak immediately halted play. Murray complained about that right away, then again at the ensuing changeover, when he also spoke to a tournament supervisor.

He wound up losing 12 of 14 points right after the let call and five games in a row to drop that set 6-1.

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1:20 p.m.

Karolina Pliskova dominated with her serve to roll past 18-year-old Ana Konjuh and into the U.S. Open semifinals.

The 10th-seeded Pliskova won 6-2, 6-2 in just 57 minutes Wednesday, losing only one point on her serve in the first set. She'll face No. 1 Serena Williams or fifth-seeded Simona Halep on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Czech came into the U.S. Open with the distinction of being the only woman in the top 20 to never reach a Grand Slam round of 16. Now she's blown past that milestone, riding the momentum of a breakthrough title at Cincinnati, where she beat second-ranked Angelique Kerber in the final.

The 92nd-ranked Konjuh hadn't been past the third round at a major before this tournament. Also a big server, she had more aces than Pliskova on Wednesday, but she was broken four times and made 27 unforced errors.

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12 p.m.

The last spots in the U.S. Open semifinals will be decided Wednesday, with Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro seeking to keep their dominant runs going.

The top-seeded Williams, who hasn't lost a set or had her serve broken in the tournament so far, faces No. 5-seeded Simona Halep. Williams has won seven of their last eight meetings.

The other women's quarterfinal pits two women who've never been this far before at a Grand Slam tournament: 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and 92nd-ranked Ana Konjuh of Croatia.

On the men's side, four of the tour's best hard-court players meet in the last two men's quarterfinals, with the No. 2-seeded Murray facing No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the afternoon, and No. 3 Stan Wawrinka taking on del Potro at night. Murray has dropped only one set in the tournament, and del Potro has lost none.

The roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium is currently open under partly cloudy skies, with a chance of rain in the afternoon.